Bears adjust to difficulties of being celebrities

Thursday

Nov 29, 2007 at 12:01 AMNov 29, 2007 at 2:05 PM

Some hired bodyguards even before Taylor's murder

Reed Schreck

Greg Olsen checked his text message Tuesday morning from Devin Hester.
Sean Taylor had died, it said.
"I couldn't believe it," said Olsen, the Chicago Bears rookie tight end. "It's terrible."
"It's a say day in the NFL," said Bears defensive end Adewale Ogunleye.
Both Olsen and teammate Hester had played with Taylor at Miami, Fla. Taylor, 24, a safety for the Washington Redskins, was shot at his home Monday and died Tuesday morning.
Olsen said his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, who also was Taylor's agent, had kept him updated on Taylor's prognosis from the hospital. Olsen was encouraged that Taylor had squeezed a doctor's hand after seven hours of surgery.
"You'd be hard-pressed to find a better guy," Olsen said of Taylor, whom he played with as freshmen when Taylor was in his final season.
Hester had difficulty handling Taylor's death, declining to talk to the media Wednesday at Halas Hall.
"It was a really rough day for him, and yesterday as well," Chicago special teams coach Dave Toub said. "It's hitting really close to home for him."
Bears head coach Lovie Smith talked to his team about the tragedy.
"Of course when something like this happens, that’s what we’re all thinking about," he said. "It’s affected all of us, so yes, as players in the spotlight, you have to keep the guys aware of their surrounding around them.
"It’s just tough when you lose someone, especially at that age. Yes, I talked to some of the guys who knew him personally. They lost a member of their family."
With previous problems athletes have had in recent years, some Chicago Bears players are becoming more cautious all the time. Eddie Curry and Antoine Walker of the NBA having their Chicago homes broken into sped up the process.
Ogunleye knows homicides vary in public awareness.
"The fact he (Taylor) is a professional athlete, it's going to get blown bigger than a normal person," he said.
"As athletes we do have to adapt and watch our backs, and make sure we're taking the precautions to protect ourselves and families. Because, with all the money and the fame, there's a lot of jealousy. And people look at that and are envious, and that leads to people doing crazy things.
"We've got to find the fine line between protecting yourself and not doing anything illegal."
Ogunleye, a New York native who went to Indiana, is more aware of his surroundings when he goes out.
"I don't like to go to places that look too crazy," he said. "I'm 30 years old, so I don't frequent a lot of these crazy places, especially with these young guys. If it looks too shaky, I'm not in it if there's not a way in or out without having to go through a metal detector.
"With that being said, these guys are young -- they're going to go out. But they have to be smart about it."
Ogunleye said he hired a bodyguard after the Curry and Walker robberies, and said "a couple guys" on the team have done likewise. He said he "definitely" feels he's more of a target being an athlete.
"When they got robbed, it made me kind of feel that I need a bodyguard," he said of Curry and Walker. "It's not because I think I'm bigger than anybody else; it's just that I don't want to be put into situations where I feel my life might be compromised. It might be smarter to have someone follow me around so if anything does happen, there's someone who can step in and defuse the situation."
Special teams star Brendon Ayanbadejo is more careful because "there are a lot of people out there who don't believe in hard work, and that there's an easy way to get things they want."
"Being athletes, we're easy targets. Entertainers are easy targets -- you see it from time to time in Chicago; you see it in Miami, where guys are robbed and stuck up for their jewels or money or houses.
"When you go out, you kinda gotta be not so flamboyant. There's a time and place for everything."
The NFL holds rookie symposiums to help players deal with security issues.
"They do a good job preparing guys for everything," Olsen said. "They do a good job prepping guys on the security aspect of it, but you never imagine something like this."
Ayanbadejo, now 31, has changed his attitude in recent years.
"If somebody is going to rob me, they can have whatever they want," he said. "If it's on me and you want it, you can have it because I'm a father and I plan on seeing my daughter (Anaya Lee, 1) having kids one of these days.
"When I was younger, I used to say I was a tough guy and wasn't going to let anyone punk me, that no one can take what's mine. Now, all these material things don't matter at all being a parent."
Reed Schreck is the NFL writer for the Rockford Register Star. Contact him at 815-987-1381 or rschreck@rrstar.com.

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